Chapter 3 Political parties Parliamentary democracy page 96

Parliamentary democracy: How can ordinary citizens influence people with power?

Chapter 3 Political Parties (p.96 – 101) Programme Questions about p.96-101 Learning goals BBC News item about new political parties Small Group Assignment Politics and money

Learning goals You are able to: Describe what a political party is and what is unique about political parties compared to other organizations; Describe the functions of a political party in a democracy; Mention chances and risks of the role of money in political parties; Mention the political parties that are part of the Dutch parliament and their main values/ points of view; Explain if a Dutch political party would agree with a specific policy proposal; Explain which political party is closest to your own preference.

Question 1: True or False A political party is part of the government (‘overheid’).

Question 2: True or False You have to be a member of a political party to get elected for a political office.

Question 3: True or False Every member of a political party thinks the same about political issues.

Question 4: True or False The Pirate Party is part of the European Parliament.

Political party “A group of people who generally speaking have the same ideas about an ideal society” (page 96). Unique features: * They participate in elections for government * They usually don’t focus on only one issue, but have ideas about every aspect of society

Functions of political parties The integration of ideas in a political programme The selection of candidates for political functions in government They involve citizens to participate in politics Spreading of information

Political parties (learn this instead of page 98-99) Political parties in the Tweede Kamer (global descriptions) SP Core value: equality. The SP stresses that the gap between rich and poor should be reduced drastically. They also stress more the national interests, compared to the PvdA (which is more internationally oriented). GroenLinks Core values: environment, equality and personal freedom. Partij voor de Dieren Core value: animal welfare. With other point they are similar to GroenLinks

Political parties (learn this instead of page 98-99) ChristenUnie Core values: conservative values (stress on family life), reducing poverty. Evangelical oriented. 50Plus Core values/ideas: solidarity with older people, maintaining (health)care arrangements of the welfare state, public safety. Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) Core values /ideas: anti-Islam, anti-EU, in favour of a smaller government and maintaining health care arrangements of the welfare state.

Political parties (learn this instead of page 98-99) Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) Core values/ideas: equal distribution of power, knowledge and wealth. Compared to the SP the PvdA focuses more on the interests of the middle income groups. Though they also want to support people who have not that much money. D66 Core values: personal freedom, more democracy, education. Social liberal party. They want more democracy through referenda and an elected mayor.

Political parties (learn this instead of page 98-99) Christen Democratisch Appel (CDA) Core values: shared responsibility, family life. Christian democrats. An important role for civil society, groups of citizens like churches, labour unions, and so on. Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) Core values: obedience to God. Christian fundamentalists. Want government to obey the church. Very conservative. Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) Core values: individual an economic freedom, individual responsibility, public safety. Liberal party. Government should not interfere that much in the economy.

Political parties (learn this instead of page 98-99) DENK Core values: equality, anti racism. Aims at voters with a migrant background. Forum voor Democratie Core values: direct democracy, national sovereignty. Conservative.

Why more political parties are being set up (BBC December 1, 2014) http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30277459 (3.13 minutes)

START YOUR OWN POLITICAL PARTY How: In one or more groups Time: 6 minutes Result: Present your political party in class You need to mention: The name of your political party Three main points of view Which groups of voters you are aiming at Main political value(s)

E-News Channel Africa (January 30, 2013) http://www.enca.com/south-africa/paul-graham-how-start-your-own-political-party Which aspect about political parties does the expert Paul Graham stressess?

Statement: Agree or disagree? All financial gifts to political parties should be registered in a public register.

Assignment Look at the next slide and discuss if the political movement your group is assigned to would agree with the statements or not, and what their arguments would be. Write down one argument pro and one refutation of a counter argument with each statement. Time: 15 minutes to write down your arguments. How: Six groups of 4 or 5 persons. Result: Each political movement presents their point of view (the teacher will select someone) > 20 minutes. Done: Start reading chapter 5 from the text book (home work).

Statements 1. The government should not interfere with how parents raise their children. 2. The government should not interfere with large differences in income and capital. If you have extra time: 3. The government should support Dutch citizens first and only after that should support the real refugees.